"We've always done it that way"

[Skydancer]

Bear with me here goes.......

The US standard railway gauge is 4'8.5"
Why?
because thats the gauge in England and expat Englishmen helped build the railway in the US.
Why did the English build them like that?
Because the first railways were built by the same people that built the pre railway, tram ways and they used the same odd gauge.
Why did they use that gauge?
Because the people who built the tramways built wagons and used the same jigs and tools, which used 4'8.5" wheel spacing.
So why did wagons use that wheel spacing?
Because if they used wheel spacing of a different measure the wheels would break on the old rutted roads.
Who built the roads?
Imperial Rome built many of the old roads for their legions and those roads have been used ever since.
Why were the ruts 4'8.5" apart?
Because Roman chariots started the ruts and everyone else had to follow for fear of breaking their wheels. All Roman chariots were alike as they were used all over the empire.
So the US railway gauge is derived from the spec for old Roman chariots!
Now why were chariots that size and gauge?
Because they were designed so that the rear end of two war horses would just fit between the spars.

Now lets jump forward a few thousand years to the space shuttle.
The two big booster rockets are made by Thiokol. The engineers who designed them would like to have made them bigger. However they had to transport them by rail and through tunnels barely wider than the track. The track as we now know is just about as wide as two horses backsides.

So we can say that the size of the boosters on what is arguably man's most advanced transport system was determined by the width of a horses a*se!

And you thought that beig a horses A*se wasn't that important!

[Staga]

http://www.snopes.com/history/american/gauge.htm

[Skydancer]

So thats where it came from. my mate told me this in the pub last night and I thought it was pretty funny. Mind you that was after a couple of pints.

Just have a laugh. Bit anal to pick something amusing apart and argue it out. But then who am I to say.

[Staga]

It is funny and it may also be partly true unlike American task force vs Canadian lighthouse incident.

[Staga]

http://www.snopes.com/military/lighthse.htm

[Skydancer]

Yeah you're probably right there.

[beet1e]

Originally posted by Skydancer
Bear with me here goes.......

The US standard railway gauge is 4'8.5"
Why?
because thats the gauge in England and expat Englishmen helped build the railway in the US.
Why did the English build them like that?
Because the first railways were built by the same people that built the pre railway, tram ways and they used the same odd gauge.

Hmmm, I don't think that's completely true, but I'd have to dig deeper to confirm. As I recall from various history broadcasts, the earliest trains ran on "Broad Gauge", on which the rails were 7' apart. This was a system designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and used on Britain's Great Western Railway from 1830.

However, IKB's arch rival, George Stephenson, had (at about the same time) designed his engine (the famous Stephenson's "Rocket") to run on "standard gauge" track which, as you correctly observed, is 4'8½". For the next 62 years, Britain ran both gauges until the inevitable happened - standardisation. IIRC, this was driven, in part, by the fact that Her Majesty Queen Victoria had to suffer the inconvenience of changing trains at Slough when travelling from Windsor to London. That's because the branch line between Windsor and Slough (built in 1842, especially to cater to the needs of the Queen) was built in standard gauge, but the main line from London to the west country was broad gauge.

So guess what? In 1892, the last remaining 177 miles of track was converted to standard gauge - and the task was accomplished in a weekend! - you can't get the staff these days -

Certain specialist railways, like the Llanberris cog railway which climbs Snowdon in N Wales, are narrow gauge.

In India, there are at least four railway gauges, none of which is the 4'8½" standard gauge!

[Mickey1992]

However, isn't it true that most military vehicles are designed not to be wider than a certain width based on the size of railroad tunnels in Europe?

[beet1e]

Originally posted by Mickey1992
However, isn't it true that most military vehicles are designed not to be wider than a certain width based on the size of railroad tunnels in Europe?

I don't know, Mickey. I'm not a military man and never was. Someone like wipass might know the answer.

One thing I can tell you - your own former Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca designed the 1980 Plymouth Reliant K car in such a way that the length was shorter, so that three instead of two could be transported in a standard rail freight wagon.

[lasersailor184]

I freaking hate snopes.  It ruins all the fun stories.  Who cares if it's false?  I enjoyed listening to it!

[beet1e]

Originally posted by lasersailor184
I freaking hate snopes.  It ruins all the fun stories.  Who cares if it's false?  I enjoyed listening to it!

Sorry that the facts are so disappointing.

[Sandman]

Originally posted by lasersailor184
I freaking hate snopes.  It ruins all the fun stories.  Who cares if it's false?  I enjoyed listening to it!

Well... they're only fun because you think they're true.

[john9001]

i saw where russia's tran's Siberian railroad changes guages some where along the line, they raise the cars up and change the trucks(wheel, spring,axle assembly).

[Skydancer]

Thats crazy. Maybe its because Mongol war chariots were pulled by smaller horses!:lol

[Gunslinger]

I  think this is more applicable

That's the way it's Always Been
Legacy Systems - Fear by Osmosis

Start with a cage containing five monkeys. Inside the cage, hang a banana on a string from the ceiling and place a set of stairs under it. Before long, a monkey will go to the stairs and start to climb towards the banana. As soon as he touches the stairs, spray all of the monkeys with ice-cold water. After a while, another monkey makes an attempt with the same result - all the monkeys are sprayed with ice-cold water.
Pretty soon, when yet another monkey can't resist trying to climb the stairs, all the other monkeys aggressively try to prevent it. Now, turn off the cold water, remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new one. The new monkey sees the banana and immediately wants to climb the stairs. To his surprise and horror, all of the other monkeys attack him. He tries again and is attacked again. He realizes that if he tries to climb the stairs, he will be assaulted.

Next, remove another of the original five monkeys and replace it with a new one. The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer too, takes part in the punishment with enthusiasm. Again, replace a third original monkey with a new one. The new one makes it to the stairs and is attacked by all. Two of the four monkeys that beat him up have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs, or why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey.

After replacing the fourth and fifth original monkeys, all the monkeys that have been sprayed with cold water will have been replaced. Nevertheless, without knowing the real reason why, no monkey will ever approach the stairs again. Why not? Because as far as they know that's the way it's always been.

And thus the method for creating Department of Deffense Policy is created!